Evidence: iPads in the Classroom Reflection

Technology in our classrooms at South Burlington range from having Smartboards, document cameras, and whiteboards, to just having chalkboards and a projector. This inconsistency led me to take a course called iPads in the Classroom at Castleton. The appeal of this class was that I would receive and iPad that I could then use to screencast with, fill out forms digitally, and give students an opportunity to explore some of the really cool math features with it. Since being one of the first to successfully pilot this device years ago, I have had the pleasure of working with almost a half-dozen teachers to do the same in their classes.

One of the teachers who has been working to use the iPad more is a special educator in our department. She has a student that has cochlear implants who also needs to rely on lip reading for communicating. In her class, she identified the need for using an iPad - when she is teaching using the SmartBoard or writing on the whiteboard, her back is to the student. If she needs to use the document camera she is located behind the student. She was hesitant to use the iPad because she didn't understand the logistics of the device. We brainstormed various ways she could use it to deliver instruction to her student, then walked through the steps to make it work. She is planning on observing me using the iPad in one of my classes in order to become a bit more comfortable with the technology.

Evidence: Apps and Extensions: Notability, Explain Everything, and Read&Write for Chrome

Notability and Explain Everything are two useful apps for the iPad in general, but can offer unique advantages to students who may require additional help with note taking, recall of explanations, and even organization. Both programs can be used for direct instruction and are especially useful when taking notes. As a teacher, I will download the guided note packet that I give my students into Notability and take notes with them. If they miss something, no problem Notability offers users the option to backup notes to Google Drive and students can be given access to the folder. Students who tend to lose their notes have the ability to access them digitally.

An additional feature that both programs offer is a microphone in the app that records as you scribe. I can record entire lectures or explanations of a topic for students so they can go back and essentially watch a screen recording of their lesson including the voiceover they heard in class. Notability is best if the student is taking notes on their own iPad, or had Notability installed on their phone as the file can only be exported with audio in the native Notability format. Explain Everything, on the other hand, while less great for note taking, it better for creating tutorial videos as the audio and handwriting gets exported as a .mov file which is viewable on many different platforms.

Google offers some great tools as well. One that I see students using frequently is the Chrome extension Read & Write. This extension comes installed on all student (and teacher) laptops and allows broader access to digital print media. Students who struggle with reading can use the text-to-speech tool. Students who need assistance typing can use the speech-to-text tool. Our English language learners can use this tool to help translate words that are not yet in their vocabulary. There are students who are undoubtedly more successful in learning because of this tool.

This represents Universal Design for Learning to a tee. While some students may need these accommodation, all students can benefit from it. I have gotten this feedback from my students who have used these features when they have missed class, when they have broken their hand and couldn't take notes, when they struggle with handwriting, when they can't find notes that they took in class, and when reading content might be a bit out of their grasp.